Mute and reflector for musical wind instruments



E. H. ALLES July 30, 1963 MUTE AND REFLECTOR FOR MUSICAL WIND INSTRUMENTS Filed June 9. 1960 INVENTOR. EDW/N H ALAES his ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,099,183 MUTE AND REFLECTOR FOR MUSICAL WIND INSTRUMENTS Edwin H. Alles, 841 Hober Ave., McKees Rocks, Pa. Filed June 9, 1960, Ser- No. 34,907 3 Claims. (Cl. 84-400) This invention relates to a combined mute and reflector fior use on musical wind instruments, particularly saxophones, and more particularly relates to an adjustable attachment carrying an angularly adjustable shield for defleeting musical sound emanating from the instrument hell in selective directions.

In playing certain musical wind instruments, such as a saxophone, the player often wishes to hear the sounds for check purposes and for improving his playing or intonation. Players often play against a wall which will reflect the sound toward the player. However, this is very inconvenient in certain situations, such as when playing with an orchestra. Furthermore, there are times that the saxophone player wishes to direct music played in a particular direction, such as towards or away from a microphone, or perhaps in a particular direction away from the stage-or perhaps he wishes to mute the instrument without the necessity of providing conventional types of mutes which fit into the bell and therefore distort the music emanating therefrom.

An object of my invention is to provide a novel mute and reflector for a saxophone, or other musical wind instrument, which is devoid of the above named disadvanrages.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide an adjustable shield for attachment to the mouth of the bell of a saxophone, or similar instrument, which shield is easily and quickly detach-ably mounted as well as easily adjusted in angularity over a wide range to enable musical sounds emanating from the bell to be deflected either to- Wards or away from the player, or reflected back into the bell so as to provide a mute.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent from a study of the following description taken with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a saxophone bell, only a fragmentary portion of which is shown, having mounted thereon a mute and reflector attachment embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation-a1 view of the structure shown in FIG. 1 showing the reflector in dotted outline in several positions;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, exploded View, in perspective, of the clamping and adjusting means shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical crossasectional view of a modified form of clamping and adjusting means for the shield shown in FIGS. 1-3; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of the clamping and adjusting means of FIG. 5.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing, numeral 1 denotes a fragmentary view of a bell portion of a saxophone having a mouth or 2. A clamp element 3 is adapted to be slidably moved along 2 the rim and clamped tightly thereon by the turning of a wing nut 4 which turns a threaded shank portion fiorcing clamp element 5 to tightly grasp the bottom portion of the rim 2. The clamp elements are shown more clearly in FIG. 4.

A ball 6 is rigidly secured to the top of clamp element 3 and cooperates with the spring clip element 9 secured by plate 8 to a reflector 7, whereby the elements 6 and 9 form a ball join-t to enable the reflector 7 to move in a vertical plane to positions such as 7a, 7b illustrated in dot and dash outline in FIG. 2, or to enable the reflector 7 to move about its own longitudinal axis to any desired position, or to provide a combination of such movements, that is, a universal movement.

Shield 7 is curved like rim 2 and is either substantial rectangular or somewhat curved on the top portion, as shown, and is preferably made of transparent plastic material, such as Lucite, cellophane, etc.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a modification of the detachable mounting and adjusting means comprising a clamp having pivotal spring fingers 11 which, by means of spring 12, yieldingly clamp onto rim 2. Lug 13 is integrally secured to the top of the clamp and has a hole on which bolt 15 is pivotally mounted, which bolt is tightened by turning a wing nut 16 so as to firmly hold shield 14 in any preselected angular position relative the bell 1. By squeezing fingers 11 together, the clamp may be moved along the rim 2, peripherally of the bell, to any selected position so that sounds may be reflected either toward or 'away from the musician.

In operation, therefore, shield 7 or 14, when moved to a vertical position as shown, will reflect sound back to the player to enable him to more clearly hear the sound. By moving the shield along the rim of the bell the sounds may be reflected toward the left or right. By moving the shield 7 to position 7a or therebeyond, the sound may be projected forwardly toward an audience. And by moving shield 7 to position 7b a muting eflect may be obtained which can be increased by bringing the shield closer and closer to the rim 2.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided an eflicient detachable shield which can be easily and quickly mounted on the bell of a saxophone, or the liloe and adjusted to various angular positions to enable the musician to hear himself better or to project the sound emanating from the bell outwardly toward an audience at selective angles, and by moving the shield so as to overhang the bell of the instrument a selective degree of muting of the instrument is obtained free of distortion such as caused by placing conventional mutes within the bell.

While I have illustrated and described several embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that these are by way of illustration only, and that various changes and modifications may be made within the contemplation of my invention and within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a musical wind instrument having the general shape of a saxophone and including a bell portion, a sound-reflecting shield mounted on the rim of said bell portion farthest from the player, said shield having a straight longitudinal axis, means for adjustably pivoting said shield in a vertical plane toward and away 3 from the player at selective angles whereby sounds emanating from said bell portion may be reflected by selective amounts toward the player.

2. The combination recited in claim 1 wherein said shield is arcu-ate in cross-section and tapers in Width toward its extremity so as to simulate the blade of a shovel.

3. The combination recited in claim 1 together with mounting means on said rim for providing universal movement of said shield.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lavens Oct. 23, Mazzeri Sept. 26, Kohlman Apr. 8, Bernard Oct. 7, Boer Sept. 16, Olson let a1. June 23, Tupper July 3, Mead Dec. 13, Laas Jan. 16,

FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Mar. 19, 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A MUSICAL WIND INSTRUMENT HAVING THE GENERAL SHAPE OF A SAXOPHONE AND INCLUDING A BELL PORTION, A SOUND-REFLECTING SHIELD MOUNTED ON THE RIM OF SAID BELL PORTION FARTHEST FROM THE PLAYER, SAID SHIELD HAVING A STRAIGHT LONGITUDINAL AXIS, MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLY PIVOTING SAID SHIELD IN A VERTICAL PLANE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE PLAYER AT SELECTIVE ANGLES WHEREBY SOUNDS EMANATING FROM SAID BELL PORTION MAY BE REFLECTED BY SELECTIVE AMOUNTS TOWARD THE PLAYER. 